Tara Kingsleigh
by Falcyn
Summary: A child has just wandered into the White Queen's palace. Whatever is going on?


A/N: So... first published fic! Woot woot! Please forgive any absurdities in spelling, my autocorrect thinks it's five o'clock somewhere.

* * *

A child of, perhaps, eight years tramped up to a white palace, looked up at it, then trotted inside, much to the distress of a particular white rabbit. This palace was the home of the White Queen, Mirana, and was located in Underland, so children usually did not appear on the doorstep. This particular child once inside, cocked her head to the side at the court's obvious confusion and gave a lopsided grin before stating brightly,"Hello!"

The court's lack of composure was completely reasonable, as this seemed to be quite an odd child. The little girl looked very like a young Alice, who'd left twelve years ago by Underland reckoning, but one of her eyes was hidden behind an eyepatch, and where Alice had acted disbelieving, at least at first, this child gave off a strong air of stubbornness instead. Queen Mirana finally found her words.

"Oh, dear! Are you quite well, child? Where are your parents?"

"I'm fine, thank you. My name is Tara. What's your name?"

"I am the White Queen Mirana, ruler of this realm. However did you lose your eye, my dear?"

"Whatever do you mean? My eye isn't lost, it's exactly where I left it, on my face." She tapped the patch over her left eye.

"Then why do you wear a patch over it? Is it hurt? I'll just get my remedies..." She made to go to her stillroom.

"Lord Hamish said that it isn't ladylike. He said that when I kicked him in the shin as well. Mummy said Lord Hamish is a blithering idiot and that she never listened to him either. She never wears that ugly ring. She told me she threw it out of a window once, but he brought it back."

"You call your father by name?"

"Lord Hamish isn't my father. They made Mummy marry him, and then I was born seven months later. I'm a bastard!" She grinned proudly.

Mirana gasped. "But surely they could not force her to marry!"

"They said to avoid the scandal, either she had to marry or they would take me when I was born. But Mummy always tells me stories about how she would take me and run away to find my Da. But I didn't want to wait, so I went to find him without her. She said we had to find a rabbit hole, so I snuck out into the hedge maze and then followed the rabbit in a coat. And now I'm here."

"I see. Well, my dear, feel free to be as unladylike as you wish here. Who is your father? Perhaps I know him."

The child scowled, looking frustrated.

"Mummy never said what his name was, just that I was called after him."

Her eyebrows furrowed, then she pulled off her eyepatch so that she could pout determinedly without interference. This revealed a sight that would make many jaws drop: one bright yellow eye.

Mirana' s eyes widened.

"Of course! My dear, I believe I do know your father, and your mother as well. I'll take you to him right away." She rose from her throne to take the child's hand and so the two walked together to a tea party.

Snarflarflarfle

Once they were close enough to hear shattering crockery, Mirana released the child's hand. "I'm afraid that I am not welcome at the party, so you'll have to go alone, my dear."

Tara beamed up at her with a toxic green eye. "I always wanted to go to a party just like Mummy' s."

The child began to scamper towards the ruckus as the Queen left with worried eyes.

SCHNARFLARFLARF.

A little girl trotted towards the sound of crashing ceramics until she reached a clearing. A figure with a bowed head and a twisted top hat slowly looked up with a whisper of,"Alice?"

The girl made it to the table and peered over at him. "Hello. I'm Tara. Are you the Hatter from Mummy's stories?"

"You aren't Alice, you're far too small and not the same sort of muchy. She's late for tea, you know." His green eyes began to glow amber and his lisp turned into a thick brogue. "Twelve years late, an' she 'asn't kept 'er promise!"

The child's eye quickly turned the same shade and her voice developed the same accent, one she could not possibly have learned from her mother. "Tha' isn't her faul', it's 'Amish's fer lockin' 'er up! An' it's been nine years, no' twelve!"

The Hatter quickly became much more predatory and quiet.

"Who'd dare lock up Alice?"

The child with one eye now a burnt orange snarled at him. Then, she growled,"They made Mummy marry 'Amish an' she can' ge' ou' o' the 'ouse wi'out 'im. I snuck ou' ta look fer my Da 'cause she said she was goin' ta bring me down the rabbit's 'ole away from 'Amish ta find 'im."

The Hatter' s face was suddenly shocked and innocent, with spring green eyes. "You're Alice's daughter?"

"My name is Tara. She said i' was after my Da, but she didn' say wha' 'is name was."

"But how ever could she have known my name?"

The child's eye turned the nauseous green of confusion. "Are you my Da, then? Will you help me rescue Mummy?"

"Of course, of course! Right this moment! Where is she?"

"In the big house near the entrance of the rabbit hole. Except she's probably noticed I'm gone and snuck out of the window to join me. We should really wait for her by the entrance."

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that! That isn't how it works!"

His voice began to build in pitch and speed, "If she needs rescued, I'll do anything at all, of course, but I really mustn't wait for her anywhere else, after all, she might not realize that it's me if I leave the table or perhaps if I don't have any tea, after all, she is rather late for-"

"Da!"

"Thanks!" he squeaked.

"I'll go and find Mummy, then. Bye, Da!"

"Fairfarren, dear Tara!"

The child, smiling happily, skipped away.

Schnarflyarflyarf

Alice had indeed noticed that Tara was missing, but unfortunately, so had Hamish. To keep up the pretense that she was his child, he had arranged a search party, but they were not encouraged to put much effort into their task. He had also placed a guard at the door to the bedroom to which Alice had never allowed him entry, to "make sure that she does not harm herself in her distress." Alice, as per her hard-headed nature, had snuck out of the window, just as Tara had predicted, and had managed to creep into the hedge maze. She listened closely for the whisper of "Late!", but it wasn't there. However...if she tilted her head just so...there! That sounded like the flowers whispering haughtily about weeds. She ran on tiptoes toward the sound, beaming when she found the rabbit hole, only to whirl with shock as Hamish cried,"Alice! What on earth are you doing? You've meant to be in your room!" She tripped backwards as he advanced towards her, and fell, down, down, down the rabbit hole.

Three pianos, two chandeliers, a piece of Upelkuchen and a bottle that said "Drink me" later, Alice walked back into Underland, laughing with joy as she scooped up her daughter and twirled her through the air. Tara grinned back with an infectious giggle, and when set down, grabbed her mother's hand, pulling her along. "Where are we going, Tara?" "Come on, Mummy! We're late for tea!" They broke into Hatter' s clearing, only for Tara to release Alice and run to the Hatter, crying, "Look Da, I was right!" Tarrant slowly looked up from his tea, eyes glowing green. "Alice?" Said woman had a hand over her mouth and tears running down her face. "Hatter, I'm afraid I'm dreadfully late for tea. Could you ever- Forgive me?" He stood up slowly. "My proper sized Alice...always." She ran to him, laughter and tears coming at the same time, and he swept his hand through her messy blonde locks, and then he kissed her, tenderly, then with passion, and flowers burst into full bloom around them, while birds sang, and one little girl muttered,"Gross."


End file.
